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The Road Ahead for Tsunami Affected Communities

October 14, 2005

By Susie

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PWRDF Tsunami Update March 2005

“We’ll see how much we can tackle, rather than getting all the money that is available. We’re trying to identify things that we can do in local areas, using not just money but the tremendous human resources that we have available, working ecumenically with other Christians and in an interfaith manner with people of other religions. We are also called to provide pastoral care to the people. Otherwise we will build all this infrastructure without building up the people.”

Rev Jayasiri Peiris, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches in Sri Lanka

pdf file of this document
The launch of the first fishing boats back in the water off the coast of India was a culmination of a tremendous amount of work by ACT members following the tsunami.  After the first catch from the boats had been shared with the people on the shore, ACT member, LWSI director, Howard Jost said, “It was a wonderful taste to eat the result of everyone’s sincere efforts”.
Due in large part to the massive effort that faith groups and nongovernmental organizations have made in the immediate aftermath of the disaster much of the focus of the tsunami response has shifted to assisting communities in returning to work and restoring their livelihoods.  PWRDF partners in the region are now facing the long-term issues of re-building and are taking the time to consider the best use of their resources.
Describing a few days that the National Council of Churches in Sri Lanka took to review their mission in light of the situation, Rev Jayasiri Peiris, General Secretary of the NCC said: “We might be doing a lot of good things, but now is the time to make sure that we do not miss the goal. And make sure that we don’t make people more dependent on donors than they were before the tsunami in Sri Lanka.” “We’re starting to move out of this first crisis phase and into reconstruction, trauma counseling, and livelihood generation, of working with people at a community level to help them solve their own problems and rebuild their lives,” he says.  Yet Peiris cautioned that NCC was not interested in huge reconstruction programs just because the money may be available.  “We’ll see how much we can tackle, rather than getting all the money that is available. We’re trying to identify things that we can do in local areas, using not just money but the tremendous human resources that we have available, working ecumenically with other Christians and in an interfaith manner with people of other religions. We are also called to provide pastoral care to the people. Otherwise we will build all this infrastructure without building up the people.”
Please continue to pray for all communities as they grieve their losses and take up the challenge of rebuilding. 
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.  

Questions About PWRDF Tsunami Response

1. How much has been raised for Tsunami response?
As of March 2005, PWRDF Tsunami donations reached a record high of $1,055,630.  $745,863 will be eligible for CIDA matching funds. The generous response of PWRDF donors will go a long way towards accompanying our partners on the road to recovery.
2. How will PWRDF access matching government funds?
PWRDF is working with three other Canadian Churches- Mennonite Central Committee, United Church of Canada, and the Presbyterian Church of Canada-to draw down the matching funds from the Federal Government for the benefit of ACT (Action by Churches Together) Tsunami appeal.  (See general questions at the end for a description of ACT.)
3. What is the total of the ACT Appeal?
ACT has revised its appeal with a total target amount of 75 million dollars (US) for tsunami relief and recovery in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Somalia and Thailand.  PWRDF will make a total contribution of 1 million dollars (CAD), including matching funds from the Canadian Government.  Part of PWRDF contribution has already been sent to the ACT Coordinating Office in Geneva that directs funds to ACT implementing partners on the ground as needed.
4.How will PWRDF support bi-lateral partners?
In addition to supporting the ACT Tsunami appeal, PWRDF provides direct support to partners.  Emergency relief grants of $ 10,000 and $13,000 were disbursed to SathKorale Saddaham Kendraya  -a Buddhist Peacebuidling Group and World Solidarity Forum -an interfaith peace and justice organization in Sri Lanka.  Similarly, $35,000 went in support of relief and rehabilitation work of Movement for National Land and Agricultural Reform (MONLAR) in Sri Lanka.  Examples of their efforts are available in a PWRDF news article on the web site.
PWRDF continues to be in regular communication with other partners on ground.   Some of our partners have been busy implementing relief activities for which they have received funds from other funding sources and asked us to hold funds for long-term rehabilitation reconstruction.  Other partners that have skills in mobilizing local communities in local livelihood management are assessing the situation and will start work as soon as the populations displaced by the tsunami get resettled in more or less permanently.

Examples of reconstruction in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Somalia and Thailand

INDONESIA

ACT members and their local partners are not only present in the accessible town centers, but also in the remote areas of Aceh and Sumatra targeting the most marginalized and neglected members of the affected communities.
ACT Members:

  • Church World Service Indonesia (CWS)
  • Yakkum Emergency Unit (YEU)
  • Yayasan Tanggul Bencana (YTB)

Creating Small Business

YEU has provided funds (16.2 million Indonesian Rupiahs ~approx. $2,000 CAD) and equipment (sewing and embroidery machines) to groups of men and women in several locations in Lhokseumawe for small businesses and handicrafts. 

Health Prevention and Education

YEU’s four medical team in Banda Aceh and Sumatra recently shifted focus from emergency medicine to routine health care, with a focus on prevention and education that will extend into community development .

Replenishing Water and Replanting

In Suak Nie, a small village close to Meulaboh on Indonesia’s west coast, with support from CWS, the community has already bought new land where they will be re-planting fruit and vegetables. CWS is providing drinking water which is stored in a tank and replenished daily.

Regenerating Community Livelihood

In Banda Aceh, YEU presented the concept of a credit union to internally displaced peoples.  YEU also provided capital for a boat-building project in Blangglumpang.

Facilitating Women’s Empowerment

In Lhok Seumawe, YEU facilitated women’s empowerment groups in Kedaimane, Tanah Anoe and Cot Seurani.

SRI LANKA

ACT members are active not only in the west and south coasts but mainly in the villages of the north east coast that are ravaged by the civil war as well as tsunami. 
ACT Members:

  • National Christian Council of Sri Lanka (NCCSL)
  • Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India

Internally Displaced – again

Years ago, many residents in the northern part of the country area left their homes behind because of the war, and now their shelters have been destroyed by the tsunami. In Mullaittivu, considered to be the town in the northern region that was most affected by the tsunami, where more than 3,000 people died and currently almost 23,000 people are taking refuge in camps or in relatives’ homes.

Acknowledging and Healing Loss

Rev. Lakshendrakumar, a local coordinator of NCCSL, spends a lot of time talking with children and encouraging them to express their thoughts by painting. Some of the children’s paintings are gruesome. One of the children painted the whole paper in black, with a small, white square in the middle with headless corpses in it – his memory of the ruins and debris left behind by the waves. Another child has written four full pages. All of the sentences start with the same phrase: “I lost…” The first two are the most horrible: “I lost my mum. I lost my dad.”

Temporary Housing

People are waiting to move into temporary houses instead of living in the tents in camps for displaced people. Discussions between the government and residents who lost their homes to the tsunami are ongoing, but also a source of frustration for those who survived the disaster. A rule that prohibits houses from being constructed too close to the beach has also been subject to protests.

Community Reconstruction

Transitional shelters are built for 900 families in Tayagatha Pura Modra, a settlement 30 km south of Colombo. They are for families who lived on the coast and whose houses were completely destroyed. Most importantly the victims themselves are participating in rebuilding their homes. Further re-building is happening in the Mullaitivu district where the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India is reconstructing 1,000 houses.
Politics Impedes Recovery and Peace Divisions within both the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), as well as continued friction between the parties, have complicated not only the post-tsunami relief and rehabilitation process but also efforts to resume negotiations for a political settlement to Sri Lanka’s longstanding conflict.

INDIA

ACT members are actively involved in the post-tsunami response including marginalized villages and communities in the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
ACT Members:

  • Churches’ Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA)
  • Lutheran World Service India (LWSI)
  • United Evangelical Lutheran Churches in India (UELCI)

Return to Fishing

The three ACT members in India are helping fishermen in their return to the life the sea brings. The first of the “fishermen’s collective livelihood kits” that are being distributed to fishing communities were delivered recently. New fiberglass boats are the main part of these kits. Upon delivery, fishing crews took their new boats out on the water to try them out. The livelihood kits also include a 10-horsepower engine for the boat and two sets of nets. Each boat with its equipment is intended to be owned and managed collectively by approximately ten families.

Focus on Youth

A special focus in Nagapattinam is on youth and students. This emphasis is in response to requests from a number of organizations and youth groups. During this critical stage of facing many decisions in their young lives, help is desired to guide, support and encourage them to see new options for their future lives and careers. UELCI is working to provide appropriate support.

A Safe Place To Play

In Cuddalore and Tranquebar UELCI is very much focused on rehabilitation work in the Dalit villages. Play kits, given to the children by the UELCI in Chandrapadi village, in Tranquebar are put to maximum use.  CASA has identified locations for 35 units of children’s parks in Tamilnadu, Kerala, Pondicherry and Andhra Pradesh.

Community Grief Counselors

UELCI, with the support of National Lutheran Health and Medical Board (NLHMB) teams, has trained more than 500 volunteers as community counselors to work with people who are suffering from post-traumatic stress. The volunteers visit the villages daily, interacting with the children to help them work through emotional issues. They have also organized several children’s camps to help provide a safe place to talk about their feelings. 

Supporting Small Trade

CASA is providing assistance for small trade (tools, equipment and working capital) to 500 has been completed. A large number of women are included.

SOMALIA

ACT member Norwegian Church Aid is work is working to secure the water supply and distribute survival equipment in poverty-stricken Somalia where more than 50.000 people have been affected by the tsunami waves.

Safe Water

Besides addressing immediate relief, NCA is setting up water tanks in many places. These water tanks alone will help 30,000 people. NCA will also treat water sources in many areas so that the population can be sure that the drinking water is safe.

THAILAND

Act member, the Church of Christ in Thailand (CCT) has been paying special attention to those affected residents who lack identity documents – ethnic minority people and migrants from neighboring Myanmar.

Restoring Livelihoods

CCT has been assisting 20 families in repairing their fishing trawlers, nets, and 20 families in repairing fishponds so they will be able to continue earning an income.  Another 50 families are receiving vocational training.

General Questions About PWRDF Emergency Response

1. How does PWRDF respond to emergencies?
PWRDF works through a global ecumenical alliance Action By Churches Together (ACT) to provide emergency relief in times of urgent need. Emergency relief and rehabilitation projects – all meeting basic needs – focus on: securing food, safe drinking water, temporary shelter; and providing health and medical supplies, agricultural materials, HIV prevention and trauma counseling.
ACT works through 195 Protestant and Orthodox churches and related aid agencies from the membership of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).

2. What is the benefit of working through ACT?
ACT has strong local roots within populations affected by emergencies and is therefore able to draw on local knowledge and infrastructure in developing their response efforts. 
ACT has experience and expertise in a range of emergency sectors: camp management, shelter, food and non-food distribution, health care, water and sanitation, disaster preparedness, de-mining, transition from relief to development, conflict resolution, and peace and reconciliation. The rapid response protocol allows for the quick identification of local implementing partners and the rapid release of pre-approved emergency funds. Often by the time a situation is reported in the media the ACT response mechanism has already begun working on the ground. And more often, the program continues to run and work on situations that are never reported in the international media.

3. How do I know the money gets to the people it’s meant for?
PWRDF bases our work on the conviction that the people most affected by a situation – local people in poor countries – are in the best position to understand the causes of their problems and how to resolve them.  As a result we became committed to working with local churches and other partner organizations that identify problems and design and deliver solutions. 
All project proposals have to include clearly stated overall goals and specified objectives, and plans for monitoring, reporting and evaluation. PWRDF staff maintain relationships with our partners and monitor programs regularly. 
Emergency assistance channeled through ACT is thoroughly monitored and reported.
4. What is Reconstruction?
PWRDF will also support programs in a community once the disaster has subsided to help it get back on its feet. This is called reconstruction or rehabilitation, and can take months or even years.
PWRDF partners have developed emergency preparedness plans, which mean that they are alert to impending disasters where possible, and have the necessary resources ready should disaster strike. This saves both time and lives.
Proper roads and bridges provide easier redistribution of food within a country as well as delivery of international aid. Planting trees, preserving indigenous drought-resistant seed varieties, protecting of water-beds, securing adequate funds for health care – all go a long way to help communities cope in times of crisis.
5. What is PWRDF’s long-term strategy related to emergency relief?
PWRDF’s strategy involves supporting communities before, during and after emergency situations. Through supporting disaster preparedness planning, PWRDF helps communities to develop their own solutions in times of crisis, leaving them less dependent on outside aide.
In countries where PWRDF has long-term development partnerships, once the immediate danger has passed, PWRDF continues to work with partners to address the root causes of crises and to bring about lasting change.
Over the years PWRDF has been able to support the kind of long-term change – reducing HIV transmission, empowering women, tending to the environment, building peace – that has the effect of mitigating the impact of future emergencies and making a positive difference in the daily lives of people who are most affected.
6. Are there any signs of hope?
The hope in these situations is always sparked by people’s capacity not only to survive but also thrive in these situations. Hope lives in the desire of local people for peace and their hard work and ingenuity in rebuilding their lives yet again. Hope lives in your ongoing support and commitment to live and learn in partnership with people over the long haul.

PWRDF TSUNAMI RESPONSE UPDATE MARCH 2005
BASED ON INFORMATION AND PHOTOGRAPHS FROM ACT INTERNATIONAL
pdf file of this document
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